Independent virus development outside a host (original) (raw)

Virology

Nature volume 436, pages 1101–1102 (2005)Cite this article

Growing two long filamentous tails may help an archaeal virus to survive in a hostile environment.

Abstract

Viruses are thought to be functionally inactive once they are outside and independent of their host cell1. Here we describe an exceptional property of a newly discovered virus that infects a hyperthermophilic archaeon growing in acidic hot springs: the lemon-shaped viral particle develops a very long tail at each of its pointed ends after being released from its host cell. The process occurs only at the temperature of the host's habitat (75–90 °C) and it does not require the presence of the host cell, an exogenous energy source or any cofactors. This host-independent morphological development may be a strategy for viral survival in an environment that is unusually harsh and has limited host availability.

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Figure 1: Electron micrographs of Acidianus convivator and different forms of the Acidianus two-tailed virus, or ATV.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology of the Gene in Extremophiles Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, 75724 Cedex 15, France
    Monika Häring & David Prangishvili
  2. University of Regensburg, Regensburg, 93053, Germany
    Monika Häring, Reinhard Rachel & David Prangishvili
  3. Danish Archaea Centre, Institute of Molecular Biology and Physiology, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen K, 1307, Denmark
    Gisle Vestergaard, Lanming Chen & Roger A. Garrett

Authors

  1. Monika Häring
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  2. Gisle Vestergaard
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  3. Reinhard Rachel
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  4. Lanming Chen
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  5. Roger A. Garrett
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  6. David Prangishvili
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Corresponding author

Correspondence toDavid Prangishvili.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Häring, M., Vestergaard, G., Rachel, R. et al. Independent virus development outside a host.Nature 436, 1101–1102 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/4361101a

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